Joe Gans......what about him ?

good thread topic. loads of people are well versed in gans on the forum and will provide you with a ****-ton of information.

for what it's worth i have him at #3

 

if you could call what they did back then "boxing" sure

 

He has a strong argument for being the greatest lightweight of all time.

The level of opposition he fought and beat, is incredible.

The deeper you dig, the more impressed you will be.

 

IMO the greatest LW ever.......better resume at LW than Duran.....
Skilled enough to compete against anyone (a puncher, with great defensive skills, very complete, etc)....
Very consistent....

 

If he'd lived a full life and retired healthy, there might not be a debate about whether or not he was superior to Duran. (Benny Leonard's own early retirement as LW Champion at the behest of his mother should also be acknowledged in this light.) As it is, the 45 round stamina he displayed in the desert heat of Goldfield puts him in the running as the all time Queensbury era P4P GOAT. Sam Langford believed him to be exactly that, and Joe's idol Fitz indicated likewise. These are staggering endorsements.

 

True great.

 

His draw with Barbados Joe Walcott, which he probably deserved to win.

That was the Hagler Leonard of the era!

 

apologies, it was a jab at people who crack on eras and consider them primitive. not an attack at gans

 

Goldfield is the easy answer, but he took a vicious, absolutely savage hammering in the press for "quitting" against Frank Erne in his first title shot. Two years later, he came back from that and the subsequent debacle with McGovern to become the first American born World Champion of African descent at any weight in less than two minutes.

Avenging his first knockout defeat to Elbows McFadden in just three rounds to defend the LW Title deserves some mention. Although Joe had won some decisions over Elbows since that defeat, neither he or anybody else had ever stopped McFadden before. (In 97 bouts, only Charlie Hitte and Langford would be able to repeat this trick, and it took Hitte 19 rounds to manage it.)

The draw with the Barbados Demon was widely considered an event Gans had the best of. (Referee Jack Welch gave it to Joe 7-5-8 in rounds.) Joe may well have also been the world's best WW while at his prime.

Maybe some historians on the board can further comment on the veracity of this, but Gans may have been the first competitor of the Queensbury era to reach the total of 100 knockouts which currently stands on his record.

 

Gans would have to be in the bracket of Benny Leonard/Ike Williams/Roberto Duran for me - I don't really see anyone else other than those as even having a shout at being better than than him really

 

Wasn't he credited for pretty much inventing the jab? Or am I making that up?

 

corbett popularized it but gans is credited (from what i've read) for making it for diverse and consistent a weapon. along with corbett and benny leonard pretty much created modern boxing

his jab against erne may be the final example of it's use not caught on film

 

:good thanks for the info sir :good

 

anytime :good and hopefully it's accurate :hat